Thermostat capable of displaying received information

ABSTRACT

A thermostat for controlling a climate control system is provided that comprises a network interface for establishing an internet connection with a website of a remote service provider, and a microprocessor for controlling the operation of a climate control system. The microprocessor is in communication with the network interface for establishing an internet connection and receiving user-specified information from a remote service provider that maintains a user-profile of information requested by the user. The thermostat further comprises a display device responsive to the microprocessor for displaying user-specified information received via the network controller from the remote service provider.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/156,391 filed on Jun. 20, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,434,742, theentire disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD

The present invention relates generally to thermostats for controllingclimate control systems, and more particularly to touch-screenthermostats having the capability of displaying information to a user.

BACKGROUND

Many digital programmable thermostats possess a display screen of a sizethat is limited by the necessary placement of control buttons around thedisplay. A touch-screen thermostat can enable the display size to beincreased by incorporating the buttons into the display device. A touchscreen thermostat can also provide more area for displaying additionalinformation to the user. However, the typical thermostat does notpossess the network interface or processing capacity to enable thethermostat to obtain information from an external source. Furthermore,obtaining information through connection with an external source wouldrequire the user to tediously enter a series of inputs to requestspecific information, and the external source to complete a series ofsearches or operations to locate and retrieve the requested information.A user of a thermostat would not likely request the thermostat to obtainsuch desired information, given the difficulty of the user entering arequest to the thermostat, and the operations involved in retrieving theinformation.

SUMMARY

Various embodiments of a programmable touch-screen thermostat forcontrolling a climate control system are disclosed that provide asimple, convenient method for programming the thermostat. According toone aspect of the present invention, one embodiment of a thermostatcomprises a network interface for establishing an internet connectionwith a website of a remote service provider, and a microprocessor forcontrolling the operation of a climate control system. Themicroprocessor is in communication with the network interface forestablishing an internet connection and receiving user-specifiedinformation from a remote service provider that maintains a user-profileof information requested by the user. The thermostat further comprises adisplay device responsive to the microprocessor for displayinguser-specified information received via the network controller from theremote service provider.

In another aspect of the invention, a second embodiment of a thermostatfor controlling a climate control system is provided that comprises anetwork interface for establishing an internet connection with a websiteof a remote service provider, and a microprocessor for controlling theoperation of a climate control system. The microprocessor is incommunication with the network interface for establishing an internetconnection and requesting a stored temperature value from the remoteservice provider that the user subscribes to, wherein the microprocessortemporarily changes the temperature set point to the requested storedtemperature value for a predetermined time period. The thermostatfurther comprises a display device responsive to the microprocessor fordisplaying the temperature value requested and received from the remoteservice provider, wherein the user of the thermostat may respond to thechange in set point to the received temperature value displayed on thedisplay device by adjusting the temperature set point to override theset point temperature value received from the remote service provider.

Further areas of applicability of the present invention will becomeapparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It shouldbe understood that the detailed description and specific examples, whileindicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended forpurposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope ofthe invention.

DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from thedetailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment, shown disassembled, of athermostat in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a thermostat in communicationwith a remote service provider in one exemplary embodiment, and

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a display image of one embodiment of athermostat according to the principles of the present invention.

Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughoutthe several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description of the various embodiments are merelyexemplary in nature and are in no way intended to limit the invention,its application, or uses.

An exemplary embodiment of a thermostat 20 according to the principlesof the present invention is shown in FIG. 1. The thermostat 20 comprisesa sub-base portion 22 and a thermostat display portion 30 adapted toconnect to the sub-base portion 22. The sub-base portion 22 preferablycomprises a plurality of connectors 24 for connecting to a climatecontrol system, and a network controller 26 having a connector 28 forcommunicating to the thermostat display portion 30 of the thermostat 20.The thermostat display portion 30 preferably comprises a microprocessor(not shown), for controlling the operation of the thermostat, and forcommunicating through the network controller 26 via connector 28 with aninternet website or server external to the thermostat.

In various exemplary embodiments, the thermostat 20 comprises athermostat display portion 30 adapted to connect to the sub-base portion22 in a manner that establishes a connection to a climate control systemvia a plurality of connectors 24, and also a connection to a networkcontroller 26 via a connector 28. The network controller 26 enables thethermostat 20 to periodically receive user-specified information from anexternal location, for display on a display device 32 or for use incontrolling the thermostat 20. The thermostat display portion 30preferably comprises a display device 32 capable of displayinguser-specified information such as weather forecast information 40 or auser-specified temperature override 44, which is received from aninternet website or server external from the thermostat 20.

In one embodiment, the network controller 26 may be a wireless LAN/modemnetwork interface control or Access Point (AP). The network control 26may be a circuit comprising an internet controller chip 50 that is incommunication with a Wireless LAN chip 52, and a dial-up modem 56 havinga phone jack for connection with a phone line 58. The internetcontroller chip 50 may be an ichip C0710AG/66BI-3 manufactured byConnectOne, which may be integrated with a wireless LAN chip 52 such asa PRISM 3.0 802.11b wireless LAN chip set, and a dial-up modem 56, suchas a MT5600SMI embedded modem manufactured by Multi-tech and an RJ-11phone jack connection. The wireless LAN chip 52 may be in communicationwith an antenna device 54, that is either trace mounted on the networkinterface, or externally mounted. The network control 26 may preferablycommunicate via a 9-pin RS-232 interface connector 28 to amicroprocessor (not shown) that is within the thermostat display portion30. Thus, the network control or interface 26 may provide an internetconnection through either a dial-up modem and phone connection or thoughwireless communication to a wireless router or WiFi 802.11b broadbandservice within a range of 300 meters. In either the wired or wirelessconnection, the network control 26 provides a 48 bit binary MAC numberfor identifying the thermostat, and provides the Transport ControlProtocol and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) necessary for accessing aninternet URL, for example www.ersus.com.

Alternatively, the network interface 26 may be a commercially availablecomponent, such as the AirWave WiFi wireless LAN, AW-ST-CB-EA-RS232 soldby Alpine Technology Ltd. This network control also provides wirelessconnectivity to a device via a RS232 9-pin interface connector 28. Othercommercially available wireless LAN/modem cards include the ActiontecMini 802.11 B Modem Combo Card manufactured by Actiontec.

In other embodiments, the thermostat 20 may comprise a connector 28 inconnection with a network controller 26 having only a dial-up modem 56and RJ-11 phone jack, for connecting to an external phone line 58 toestablish a dial-up connection for accessing the internet. An example ofsuch a dial-up modem is a MT5656RJ-92 56K RJ embedded modem with anintegral RJ-11 form factor phone connector, manufactured by Multi-tech.In these embodiments, a more economical thermostat 20 is provided forestablishing a wired connection for accessing an internet website.

In one first embodiment, a thermostat display portion 30 comprises adisplay device 26 responsive to a microprocessor within the thermostatdisplay portion 30, where the microprocessor is capable of requestingand receiving communication of information through the connector 28 andnetwork interface 26 to an external location or internet website. Themicroprocessor generally comprises a program for controlling theoperation of the thermostat and climate control system in connectionwith the plurality of connectors 24. Such thermostat programs forcontrolling the operation of a climate control system are prevalentlyused. As such, the program of the microprocessor for controlling theoperation of the thermostat and climate control system will not bediscussed in detail. The microprocessor may be configured toperiodically request a connection via the network interface 26 to aserver in an external location, or to the internet 110, for accessing awebsite and retrieving user-specified information. For example, theexternal location could be an internet website of a service providerthat a user may establish a user-profile for requesting specificinformation to be retrieved and stored in memory in an externallocation, such as a server maintained by the service provider entity.One example of such a service provider is Emerson Retail Services.

The first embodiment of a thermostat for displaying information utilizesa username and password associated with the server or website throughwhich informational services are obtained. Preferably, the user mayenter a username and password into the thermostat 20 that the user hasset up through the website. The thermostat 20 may then periodicallyestablish connection through the internet to the website which offersthe services of providing specific information or changing set pointtemperature. For example, the site could be Emerson Retail Serviceswebsite http://www.ersus.com, or login sitehttp://biztools.ersus.com/discoverer4i/viewer?_but=Connect&db=rpt. Thethermostat 20 could establish connection with the internet to access thewebsite and provide a username and password to logon to the website orwebpage. Upon verification of logon information, the website would thenretrieve and communicate an ASCII format text message to the thermostat20. The thermostat's microprocessor could then respond by displaying theexact text message received, in part or in its entirety (depending onthe amount of text), on the display device 32. For example, the ASCIItext message received could comprise values of the local high and lowforecast temperatures, the chance of precipitation, and otherinformation.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the information to bedisplayed is preferably tailored to the particular user's interests, bymeans of a user profile which the user establishes. As shown in FIG. 2,the user profile is preferably established by the user initiatingconnection from a computer 100 to the internet 110 to access the websiteof a service provider 120, where the user may set up a new account forthe desired services. The user or subscriber would establish a usernameand password to be associated with the subscriber's user profile, aspart of the subscribers initial login process. Alternatively, the user'spassword could also be emailed to the user by the service provider 120.

At this point, the server 120 associated with the service providerswebsite require login of the user name and password by the user. Oncethis is verified, the server 120 will access a database to retrievedetailed user profile information stored by the service provider. If theuser is a new user, the server 120 would prompt the new user to enterspecific information such as the user's area or zip code, which could beused to obtain information local to the area. The user would be able toselect information that the user would like to receive, such as theday's high and low forecast temperatures, the chance of precipitation,local sports scores, or other related information. The login name,associated password, as well as user profile and information preferencesmay be stored in the service provider's database. It should beunderstood that that user may select various requested information andoptions for use with the thermostat 20, which may be limited only by theservice provider and the amount of information that the thermostat 20 iscapable of displaying or utilizing. Once the subscriber completes theuser profile set up with a service provider, the subscriber may changethe profile at any time by accessing the service provider's websiteusing a computer.

Once the user has set up an account and user profile with a remoteservice provider, the user subsequently enters the data into thethermostat 20, in particular, the service provider's website, and ausername and password. The microprocessor of the thermostat 20 thenperiodically establishes connection via the network interface 26 withthe website, and provides the username and password for login. In thefirst embodiment, the thermostat 20 establishes connection with thewebsite at least once daily, and preferably establishes contact at leastonce in the morning and once in the afternoon. The user may also press aparticular icon on the touch screen interface, or press and hold a menuicon 38 to prompt the thermostat 20 to establish connection to thewebsite via the internet.

When the thermostat 20 initiates an internet connection session throughthe network interface 26, the thermostat will request access to theservice provider's URL that the user has entered. The service provider'swebsite will prompt the login of the thermostat, which then provides theuser name and password that the user entered. Once login is verified andthe thermostat 20 gains access to the service provider's server, theservice provider will access a subscriber database and retrieve theuser's profile. The server can also identify the one or both of the “IP”or “MAC” number associated with the thermostat 20, for storage with theuser's profile. The service provider may periodically perform ananalysis of the user profile, and perform a search for the various typesof information to be retrieved for the particular user. The serviceprovider's server may establish connection with various informationservers in the service provider's system, or through the internet. Forexample, the service provider may obtain local forecast information fromthe national Weather Service Provider (WSP), and may store packets ofinformation associated with the particular user for subsequenttransmission to the user. The service provider may accordingly retrievethe information associate with the user's profile through various means,and may compile an ASCII text message for later submission to thethermostat. The remote service provider accordingly does not have toinitiate a search when contacted by the thermostat 20 to retrieve thevarious requested information, and accordingly provides a fasterresponse time. The requested information, which is compiled into arelatively small electronic file size, may be easily retrieved fromstorage for transmission to the subscriber. Thus, the thermostat 20would not require a significant processing capacity or speed to downloadthe text message and process the message for subsequent use.

During an internet login session that is initiated by the thermostat 20,the service provider retrieves the user's profile, which is preferablybased on user information voluntarily entered by the user as describedabove. The service provider's server then retrieves the storedinformation associated with the particular user's profile andresponsively transmits an ASCII text message to the thermostat. Wherethe thermostat utilizes a 56K dial up modem, the microprocessor of thethermostat 20 would be able to quickly download and store a text messageof a size preferably in the range of about 1 Kb to about 100 Kb. Thethermostat's microprocessor may then store the message in memory, andresponsively display the received ASCII text message, in part or in itsentirety, on the thermostat's display device 32.

In some thermostat embodiments, the display device 32 displays the ASCIItext in an appropriate space between various icons on the display device32. For example, the display device 32 may display the information asshown in FIG. 1. It should be noted however that the embodiments may beadapted to display the information any where on the display device 32.The ASCII information shown in FIG. 1 may be displayed as a continuousline of text, or a plurality of lines of text. The text informationcould be arranged by the service provider to correspond to headings forthe particular thermostat model or embodiment. Where the subscriberinforms the service provider of the particular thermostat model, theservice provider could responsively arrange an information packet ortext message that begins with the low and high forecast temperaturesfollowed by the chance of precipitation, as in the example shown inFIG. 1. In this example, the message text would align with the headingsfor the forecast 40 and chance of precipitation 42 as in FIG. 1. Themessage could also further include other local information, such as thescore of a local sports team.

In some thermostat embodiments, the thermostat and display device couldbe configured to initially display the first 9 to 20 characters of theASCII text message received from an external location or serviceprovider. The first 9 to 20 characters could include the low and highforecast temperatures and the chance of precipitation, which could alignwith the headings shown in FIG. 1. After displaying the first 9 to 20characters for a predetermined time period, the thermostat and displaydevice could be configured to scroll the text information to allow fordisplaying the entire ASCII text message in a scrolling marquee manner.Some thermostat embodiments may omit the display of headings, and mayprovide for displaying the entire ASCII text message or receivedinformation in a scrolling marquee format as shown in FIG. 3.

Depending on the service provider, subscribers to the remote servicecould also be able to participate in reduction of energy consumption orenergy saving options. The user or subscriber of the remote service maybe able to select an option of enabling transmission of a desiredtemperature setting to the thermostat, or of enabling an ElectricUtility provider to transmit a setback temperature setting to the user'sthermostat. Emerson Retail Services is one remote service provider that,at the time of filing of this application, provides set pointverification and also set point temperature change capability.

In yet another embodiment, the thermostat may be configured toperiodically establish access via the internet with the remote serviceprovider, to request transmission of only a stored temperature set pointvalue, if any are present. Alternatively, the thermostat 20 may furthercomprise the capability of receiving a data bit following the end of thetransmission of the ASCII text data packet, which subsequent datatransmission could include a temperature value for use as a set point.The microprocessor of the thermostat 20 is preferably capable ofrecognizing and storing the temperature value, and temporarily changingthe set point temperature of the thermostat 20 to the stored temperaturevalue. In this manner, the thermostat temporarily overrides itsprogrammed set point temperature for the current time period, andmaintains the new “requested” set point temperature for either apredetermined time or until the next programmed time period within thethermostat. The user may therefore remotely gain access to the serviceprovider's website using a computer, and enter a temporary desiredtemperature setting for the thermostat, which the thermostat 20 canretrieve and responsively alter its set point with. Thus, if a useranticipated a late arrival home or a time period that the residencewould be unoccupied, the user could remotely change the thermostattemperature set point to obtain energy savings.

Likewise, the user may enable an Energy Utility provider to submit asetback temperature setting to the remote service provider. Bycooperating with a remote service provider such as Emerson RetailServices, an Energy Utility provider would be able to request thermostatsetbacks to a base of service providers to effect a significantreduction in operation of residential climate control systems duringpeak energy demand periods. Thus, this embodiment of a thermostat thatcommunicates with a remote service provider provides a valuable serviceto both the individual subscriber and a utility, to benefit the user andthe community as well.

During periods of peak energy demand when a utility submits a setbacktemperature through the remote service provider to temporarily changingthe thermostat of a subscriber, the thermostat 20 may display therequested set back temperature 44 on the display device 32 as shown inFIG. 1. In this manner, the user may view the Utility's request for setback temperature, and may manually override the set back temperature byadjusting the temporary temperature set point using up and down inputs34 and 36 on the thermostat 20. The user could further have the abilityto remotely access the service provider website and override theUtility's entry, if the user so desires. Thus, the thermostat could alsoprovide for overriding a set point temperature change received from aremote service provider.

Referring to FIG. 3, some embodiments of a thermostat may be configuredto display text 40 in a scrolling format on a portion of the displaydevice 32. The information displayed as text 40 preferably comprisesabout 9 to 20 characters, which characters are made up of segments thatallow for displaying a variety of alphanumeric characters. Onethermostat embodiment comprises a display device 32 having a pluralityof segmented characters 60 configured to display alphanumeric symbols toprovide for displaying a text message 40 as shown in FIG. 3, and amicroprocessor in communication with the display device being configuredto display a text message of any length. The microprocessor isconfigured to communicate a portion of the text message to the displaydevice 32 for display thereon, wherein the microprocessor iterativelycommunicates portions of the text message to the display device toprovide a scrolling marquee for displaying the text message 40 in itsentirety. The display device 32 in FIG. 3 is a Liquid Crystal Displaythat comprises at least about nine characters 60 having a plurality ofsegments that may be used to display alphanumeric symbols to form words,numbers or other characters. A Liquid Crystal Display may often have anicon for each word or symbol. Likewise, the LCD has an icon for eachsegment of a letter. The LCD in FIG. 3 has at least about ninecharacters and up to 20 characters 60, each of which comprise 14segments, for a total of 126 icons to 250 icons. This is much less thata costly dot matrix LCD display, which may have as many as 6,000 icons.Moreover, the dot matrix LCD display also requires a display driver thatis not required in the display device as in FIG. 3.

A microprocessor of the thermostat is configured to send display data tothe Liquid Crystal Display device, which responsively displays theappropriate data as text 40 and refreshes the display of text data 40shown in FIG. 3 to provide a scrolling marquee of information to theuser. The use of an LCD having a plurality of characters comprising anumber of segments that allow for display of various alphanumericcharacters provides an advantage over dot matrix type thermostats, inthat the LCD display consumes less power and is less expensive. Thevarious thermostat embodiments comprising a display having a pluralityof segmented characters that allow for displaying a scrolling marqueeaccordingly provide a simple means for displaying to the user textinformation of different lengths, without using up a substantial portionof the display area. Such thermostat embodiments may accordingly displayreceived information without having to truncate the information, orparse the received information to display certain portions of theinformation on the display. Rather, the thermostat would simply be ableto receive information and responsively display the information asreceived in its entirety to the user. The LCD display shown in FIG. 3also provides for display of scrolling text information to thethermostat user, without requiring a costly power consuming dot matrixdisplay that would reduce battery life of the thermostat. The thermostatcomprising a display having a plurality of segmented characters thatallow for displaying a scrolling marquee accordingly provide a simplemeans for displaying to the user text information of different lengths,without using up a substantial portion of the display area. Thus, thethermostat could receive an ASCII text message from an externalconnection and display the text message in its entirety in a scrollingmarquee fashion. The thermostat could also display information relatingto the thermostat itself, such as user instructions for selectingappropriate icons to program the thermostat, or other information suchas the humidity in the space.

In some thermostat embodiments, the thermostat is configured to providediagnostic information relating to operation of the thermostat or otherHVAC components that it is in communication with. Accordingly, somethermostat embodiments may provide for display of diagnostic textinformation pertaining to the operating status of the thermostat or theHVAC system components, where the text information received by thethermostat may be of different lengths. Rather than providing apredetermined number of flashing indicia corresponding to a diagnosticcode, the thermostat would provide the user or repair technician withdetailed diagnostic information for troubleshooting or restoring systemoperation. Such information would not be restricted by a text or displaysize limit, and could be displayed repeatedly in a scrolling marqueefashion. For example, the thermostat may be configured to communicatewith and receive diagnostic information from a furnace control, whichmay indicate a failed attempt to attain ignition due to either a faultyhot surface igniter or a degraded flame sensor. The thermostat couldaccordingly display the above failure in a scrolling marquee fashion onthe display device 32, such that the technician would not have to obtainor refer to a diagnostic manual for identifying the fault correspondingto a number of flashes. The thermostat could further display requiredmaintenance, such as filter replacement, or display a service phonenumber stored in memory that the user of the thermostat could call forservice. The thermostat is capable of storing a plurality of messagesrelating to troubleshooting of operating conditions of the system. Thiscould aid the operator with diagnosing system maintenance, problems thatwould require repair, replacement of thermostat batteries or thethermostat itself. The thermostat accordingly could display one of aplurality of stored messages for aiding the user with the operation ofthe thermostat. Thus, the various embodiments provide for display oftext information of any length in a small display area on the displaydevice, to enhance the amount of information the user may view from thethermostat.

The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and,thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention areintended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations arenot to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

1. A thermostat for controlling a climate control system, comprising: anetwork interface for establishing an internet connection with a websiteof a remote service provider; a microprocessor for controlling theoperation of a climate control system, the microprocessor being incommunication with the network interface for periodically establishingan internet connection via the network interface and receivinguser-specified information from a website of a remote service providerthat maintains a user-profile in which the user can tailor or select theinformation that the user would like to have sent to the user'sthermostat from the remote service provider in the form of a textmessage, which information comprises weather information including theday's forecasted temperature; and a display device having a plurality ofcharacters each of which comprise segments that allow for displaying avariety of alpha-numeric characters, the display device being responsiveto the microprocessor for displaying at least a portion of the textmessage received, which text message includes the user-specifiedinformation including the day's forecasted temperature received via thenetwork controller from the remote service provider.
 2. The thermostatof claim 1 wherein the network interface is adapted to establish aninternet connection through a dial up modem and phone line.
 3. Thethermostat of claim 1 wherein the network interface is adapted toestablish a wireless internet connection through a WiFi 802.11b wirelessrouter.
 4. The thermostat of claim 1 wherein the user specificinformation comprises at least weather forecast information of a hightemperature and a low temperature, which align with weather forecastheadings on the display device.
 5. The thermostat of claim 1 where uponthe thermostat establishing connection with the remote service provider,the remote service provider responds to the thermostat's identificationby providing a data message containing user-specified information. 6.The thermostat of claim 1 wherein the user-profile comprises a requestby the user for specific information, which the remote service providerprepares and provides to the thermostat when the thermostat establishesconnection with the remote service provider.
 7. The thermostat of claim1, wherein the microprocessor is configured to communicate a portion ofthe received text message to the display device, and to iterativelycommunicate portions of the text message to the display device toprovide for displaying the text message in its entirety in a scrollingmarquee fashion.
 8. The thermostat of claim 7 wherein the microprocessoris further configured to iteratively communicate successive portions ofthe text message to the display device to provide for displayingportions of the text message using the 9 to 20 characters, such that thetext message is displayed in its entirety in portions up to 20characters at a time, to thereby display the entire text message in ascrolling marquee fashion using only 9 to 20 characters.
 9. A thermostatfor controlling a climate control system, comprising: a networkinterface for establishing an internet connection with a website of aremote service provider; a microprocessor for controlling the operationof a climate control system, the microprocessor being in communicationwith the network interface for periodically establishing an internetconnection via the network interface and receiving user-specifiedinformation from a website of a remote service provider that maintains auser-profile in which the user can tailor or select the information thatthe user would like to have sent to the user's thermostat from theremote service provider in the form of a text message, which informationcomprises weather information including the day's forecastedtemperature; and a display device in communication with themicroprocessor, the display device having at least one headingindicative of a weather forecast, and a plurality of characters each ofwhich comprise segments that allow for displaying a variety ofalpha-numeric characters, such that the display device is configured todisplay at least the first 20 characters of the text message; whereinthe microprocessor is configured to communicate an initial portion ofthe received text message including the day's forecasted temperature tothe display device to cause the display of the day's forecastedtemperature in alignment with the at least one heading on the displaydevice, the microprocessor being further configured to iterativelycommunicate portions of the text message to the display device toprovide for displaying the text message in its entirety in a scrollingmarquee fashion via the plurality of characters comprising segments. 10.The thermostat of claim 9, wherein the plurality of characterspreferably comprises between 9 and 20 characters, each character beingmade of segments configured to display a variety of alpha-numericcharacters.
 11. The thermostat of claim 10 wherein the microprocessor isfurther configured to iteratively communicate successive portions of thetext message to the display device to provide for displaying portions ofthe text message using the 9 to 20 characters, such that the textmessage is displayed in its entirety in portions up to 20 characters ata time, to thereby display the entire text message in a scrollingmarquee fashion using only 9 to 20 characters.
 12. The thermostat ofclaim 11 wherein the network interface is adapted to establish awireless internet connection through a WiFi 802.11b wireless router. 13.The thermostat of claim 12 wherein the thermostat is configured topermit the user to enter data of the remote service provider's website,a username and a password for establishing a connection with the remoteservice provider via the wireless internet connection.
 14. Thethermostat of claim 11 wherein the network interface is adapted toestablish an Internet connection through a dial up modem and phone line.15. A thermostat for controlling a climate control system, comprising: amicroprocessor that is configured to control operation of thethermostat, and configured to receive a text message; a display devicein communication with the microprocessor, the display device including:a first portion of the display device having a plurality of segmentedcharacters that are configured to display alpha-numeric symbols suchthat the plurality of segmented characters are configured to displayportions of a text message on the display; and a second portion of thedisplay device having segmented characters thereon configured to displaysymbols for displaying a header or other information; wherein themicroprocessor is configured to communicate to the display deviceinformation for display on the second portion of the display devicehaving the segmented characters, and is further configured toiteratively communicate portions of the text message to the displaydevice to provide a scrolling marquee, using the plurality of segmentedcharacters, for displaying the text message in its entirety.
 16. Thethermostat of claim 15 wherein the microprocessor is configured toreceive a text message in its entirety, and thereafter to iterativelycommunicate portions of the text message to the display device toprovide a scrolling marquee for displaying the text message in itsentirety.